Travel claim: mileage allowance, per diem and how to make one
24 July 2026 · 5 min read
A travel claim is an itemised record of a work-related trip and its costs. It brings together mileage allowance for kilometres driven in your own car, per diems for the days you travelled and other travel costs such as train, accommodation and parking. An entrepreneur makes a travel claim so that reimbursements and costs get recorded correctly for bookkeeping and taxation. Here is how to do it.
What a travel claim is
A travel claim is not a sales invoice but an internal voucher: it documents a work trip and the reimbursements and costs tied to it. A travel claim shows the reason for the trip, the time, the destination and the route, and the reimbursements that accrued. It is the basis on which tax-free travel reimbursements are recorded and on which travel costs move into bookkeeping with their receipts.
What a travel claim includes
- Mileage allowance: reimbursement for the work-trip kilometres driven in your own car
- Per diem: reimbursement for the increased living costs a work trip causes, for the travel days
- Other travel costs: for example train and flight tickets, accommodation, parking and taxis, with receipts
- Trip details: reason, time, destination and route
Mileage allowance and per diem in brief
Mileage allowance is calculated from the kilometres driven and the per diem from the length of the trip. The Tax Administration confirms each year the amounts and conditions for tax-free reimbursements: how much can be reimbursed tax-free per kilometre and on what conditions a full or partial per diem arises. These figures and limits change from time to time, so check the amounts and conditions in force with the Tax Administration. Haimoo Invoice applies the tax-free reimbursement amounts the Tax Administration has confirmed and that are in force, so you don't have to remember the figures by heart: you enter the kilometres driven and the travel days, and the program calculates the reimbursement.
How a travel claim relates to an entrepreneur's taxation
Tax-free travel reimbursements are reimbursements that are not counted as taxable income, when they have been paid according to the Tax Administration's conditions and amounts and are based on a proper travel claim. That is why making the travel claim properly matters: without the itemisation and the basis, the reimbursement may miss the tax exemption. As an entrepreneur your own situation and company form can affect how reimbursements are treated, so when in doubt it is worth checking with your accountant or the Tax Administration.
How to make a travel claim in Haimoo
On the paid tier of Haimoo Invoice you make a travel claim in the same place as sales invoices and expense claims:
- Start a new travel claim and fill in the reason, time and destination of the trip
- Add the kilometres driven, and the program calculates the mileage allowance using the amounts in force
- Mark the travel days for the per diem
- Attach the other travel costs with their receipts
- Check the summary and save the travel claim for bookkeeping
That way travel reimbursements and travel costs stay organised in one place, ready for your accountant. You can start invoicing for free, and expense and travel claims open on the paid tier at 11.95 euros a month plus VAT. The exact tax-free reimbursement amounts are always worth confirming from the Tax Administration's current guidance.